Peninsula
Orchid
Society

Welcome to the Peninsula Orchid Society!

Founded in 1946, the Peninsula Orchid Society (POS) is a society of about 200 orchid
enthusiasts and professional growers with members from around the San Francisco Bay area.
Our mission is to increase the awareness, appreciation, enjoyment, conservation, and cultivation of
orchids. POS members fulfill this mission in the following ways:

Monthly Meetings

Annual Orchid Show and Sale in January.

Auction of Member Owned Orchids in September.

Bus Trips to local commercial and hobby orchid greenhouses.

Diverse educational activities that vary from year to year.

About Our Monthly Meetings

Our Monthly Meetings are full of orchids. Members bring in plants that they have "bloomed" to be
featured on the "Show and Tell" table. At an appointed time, one or two of the Society's knowledgeable members
present the plants and talk a little about each orchid's cultural requirements, breeding, or history.
After the Show and Tell portion of the meeting, an invited speaker gives a talk about an issue of interest to
orchid growers. Topics range from natural history and culture of specific types of orchids to orchid genetics
to reports about trips to see wild orchids. These lectures feature prominent local orchid experts and occasional speakers from other states and from abroad.
Every meeting also includes a member sales table, where members sell orchids from their
own collections and an "opportunity table" containing plants which can be won at the end of the meeting. In addition,
our orchid library is open at each meeting so that members may check out books or periodicals relating to their interest.
Before the meeting starts there is a hands on skills session where members can learn about repotting or mounting,
cultivation best practices, or other topics of interest to orchid enthusiasts.

Our Members

Our members span from teens to seniors. They range from having only a couple of store bought orchids to
window-sill growers with many orchids taking over their home to advanced hobby growers with greenhouses
to professional orchid growers. They live on the Peninsula, in San Jose, Fremont, San Leandro, Pleasant Hill,
San Francisco, and some live far away. Guests are always welcome at our meetings and other events.

In addition to our website, you may find information on our activities on our Facebook Page and in our
Newsletter "The Sheath".